Page 99 of Magdalene Nox

Sam was waiting for her in her new room. And Magdalene realized that, amidst the destruction, she was smiling. In the middle of ruin, her heart, while grieving for the beloved Dragons, was full. And wasn’t that a miracle in itself?

Her mother had called the morning after the fire. Magdalene had been in Franz’s clinic as Alden asked her to give him and Sam some time alone. She’d sat on a rickety chair, her phone battery almost empty, foot bouncing, thoughts very much with Sam, as she swiped the screen to answer. Before she said hello to her mother, Candace informed her that she was on her way to the island, and only Magdalene’s immediate and vehement insistence that she not come, that the island really couldn’t accommodate her, prompted a pause.

“To be fair to that speck of dirt in the middle of nowhere, my girl, even before it went up in flames, it couldn’t accommodate me to my standards. No wonder it was incinerated.”

Magdalene found herself laughing at her mother’s candor. A glance through the window and towards the cliffs, at the work being done to Viridescent Tower, and she could almost envision the hotel that would soon rise to meet Candace’s exacting requirements. That would mean her mother would visit. Magdalene shuddered and decided to move the conversation along.

“The island stands, mother. The school burned.”

“It really doesn’t matter to me.” She could hear the eye roll in Candace’s tone. “I assume you are staying put?”

The question was nonchalant enough to require nothing but a simple answer, except something in her mother’s voice made Magdalene sit up straighter.

“You assume correctly, mother.” She laid the words down carefully, as if they might explode in front of her.

There was a loud exhalation on the other end of the line, then the pause stretched uncomfortably long.

“Mom?”

“I should have named you Jude or Rita. Both of those are patron saints of lost causes, my girl.” Candace’s words were filled with so much impatience, Magdalene had to bite back her chuckle.

“I can’t in good conscience walk away, mother.”

“Walk away in bad conscience then, Magdalene. Who gives a damn? You nearly died and for what? A chunk of land? A few stones? A revenge plotted for three decades? You scared me!”

The exasperation grew into concern, and Magdalene could tell Candace was on the verge of tears.

“Mom…”

“Do not ‘mom’ me, Magdalene! How am I supposed to have time to atone for being a self-absorbed creature when you are dead?”

Magdalene’s mouth dropped open.

“I wasn’t aware you were trying to atone, mother.”

A loud tsk followed by a sigh were the only response, and for a moment, they sat in silence, the reception space slowly filling with people giving Magdalene curious glances. In the adjacent exam room, Magdalene could hear Alden’s unsteady voice explaining to Sam that he was her father, and that he’d abandoned her thirty years ago.

Her eyes stung, and she thought about how hurt and confused Sam must be. These revelations were never easy, and her heart went out to her lover. She knew she couldn’t take this hit for Sam, but Magdalene really wished she’d at least been able to hold her hand as the blow was being delivered.

The parallels of their situations, Sam’s father, her mother, were uncanny, and the synchronicity of these come-to-Jesus conversations were not lost on Magdalene.

“I assume Stanton will fund the rebuild?” Clearly done with the heart-to-heart, Candace was all business now.

“How did you—,” Magdalene cut herself off. Why was she asking things that had no explanation other than that this was her mother and she knew everything? “Yes, should all the stars align, he will pay for the reconstruction.”

Candace’s chuckle on the other end of the line was mirthless.

“Stars? You mean if his daughter doesn’t throw him off those cliffs for what he did to her, the absolute brute?” Again, Magdalene marveled at the depth of her mother’s knowledge. Then she marveled at herself for marveling in the first place. Gossip was Candace’s stock-in-trade, after all.

“Mother—” She was weary. The events of the night, the exhaustion, the fear and adrenaline leaving her bone-tired. She really didn’t want to entertain her mother’s curiosity.

“You know, I thought you’d made a once-in-a-lifetime match with Nox. Rich, the bloodline alone was to die for. And yet, here you are beating that one quite easily. Daughter-in-law to the Governor of Massachusetts.” Magdalene was floored. The playful lilt in her mother’s words was palpable.

“Former...” was all she could muster in reply.

“I wouldn’t discount him just yet, my girl.” The mischief remained, and Magdalene rolled her eyes at her mother’s power hungry ways. Candace and her network of busybody ladies of high society, with their money and their information, could yet make Alden governor again, solely because Candace wanted to see Magdalene close to some political ambition. Leave it to her mother to turn a tragedy into a personal victory.

Perhaps that would be the reason she would never truly reconcile with Candace. Andreconciliationwas entirely the wrong word to describe her feelings for her mother. Forgiveness wasn’t an option since Candace would never repent for her behavior where her daughter was concerned, and all Magdalene had left was to accept her mother as she was. No matter how much Candace planned to atone. And speaking of…

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